Optical Kerr effects induced by the propagation of high peak-power laser beams through real atmospheres have been a topic of interest to the nonlinear optics community for several decades. This paper proposes a new analytical model for predicting the filamentation/light channel onset distance in real atmospheres based on modulation instability model considerations. The normalized intensity increases exponentially as the beam propagates through the medium. It is hypothesized that this growth can be modeled as a weighted ratio of the Gaussian beam diameter at range to the lateral coherence radius and can be used to set the power ratio for an absorbing, turbulent, nonlinear media to estimate the beam collapse distance. Comparison of onset distance predictions with those found from computer simulation and deduced from field experiments will be presented. In addition, this model will be used with an analytical approach to quantify the expected radius of light channels resulting from self-focusing both with and without the production of a plasma filament. Finally, this paper will describe a set of 1.5-micron, variable focal length USPL field experiments. Comparisons of theoretical radius calculations to measurements from field experiments will be presented.

中文翻译：

---

光学克尔效应场测量和临时工程模型比较

几十年来，由高峰值功率激光束通过真实大气传播引起的光学克尔效应一直是非线性光学界感兴趣的话题。本文基于调制不稳定性模型的考虑，提出了一种新的分析模型，用于预测真实大气中的丝状/光通道起始距离。随着光束通过介质传播，归一化强度呈指数增加。假设这种增长可以建模为范围内高斯光束直径与横向相干半径的加权比，并可用于设置吸收、湍流、非线性介质的功率比，以估计光束坍塌距离。将介绍起始距离预测与从计算机模拟中发现并从现场实验中推导出的那些预测的比较。此外，该模型将与一种分析方法一起使用，以量化在产生和不产生等离子灯丝的情况下自聚焦产生的光通道的预期半径。最后，本文将描述一组 1.5 微米、可变焦距 USPL 现场实验。将介绍理论半径计算与现场实验测量值的比较。